Parlen els mestres

De tots els titulars amb què els diaris d'arreu del món van encapçalar la seva primera edició l'endemà de les eleccions als Estats Units, cap mostra millor el sentiment d'alleujament que van sentir milions de persones a tot el planeta com aquest del Los Angeles Times, "És Obama". Sí, és Obama.

El dia mateix de les eleccions, Bob Dylan tocava a Minneapolis amb totes les entrades venudes. Com que ja se sap que, durant els seus concerts, si Dylan parla és per presentar els seus músics i encara, ningú no esperava que aquell vespre ell digués res, i així és com va transcórrer tota l'actuació. Això sí, la pausa abans dels bisos va ser especialment llarga, segurament perquè va passar tota aquella estona davant de la tele assabentant-se que Obama havia guanyat les eleccions. Llavors, van tornar a sortir a l'escenari, van tocar Like a Rolling Stone i, en acabat, va sorprendre tothom acostant-se al micro i parlant:

"Tony [Tony Garnier, baixista] likes to think it’s a very good time right now, an age of light. Me, I was born in 1941, the year they bombed Pearl Harbor. I've been living in a world of darkness ever since. But it looks like things are gonna change now!"

A continuació, es va tombar i tota la banda es va posar a tocar una versió gairebé irreconeixible de Blowin' in the Wind. Cap al final del tema, va forçar la veu per arribar a les notes més altes, i quan va veure que no podia, va agafar l'harmònica i va anar fins al mig de l'escenari. La seva excitació era autèntica, i l'emoció màxima.




L'endemà de les eleccions, el dia 5 de novembre, Leonard Cohen tocava a Glasgow. Després d'interpretar Hallelujah i que la gent es posés de peu per aplaudir-lo, va caminar cap al micro, amb el barret a la mà, i va recitar això:

"I'm sentimental if you know what I mean
I love the country but I can't stand the scene.
And I'm neither left or right
I'm just staying home tonight,
getting lost in that hopeless little screen.
But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags
that Time cannot decay,
I'm junk but I'm still holding up
this little wild bouquet:

This is my love letter to the U.S.A."

I a continuació va engegar amb una versió d'aquesta cançó, Democracy:

It's coming through a hole in the air,
from those nights in Tiananmen Square.
It's coming from the feel
that this ain't exactly real,
or it's real, but it ain't exactly there.
From the wars against disorder,
from the sirens night and day,
from the fires of the homeless,
from the ashes of the gay:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
It's coming through a crack in the wall;
on a visionary flood of alcohol;
from the staggering account
of the Sermon on the Mount
which I don't pretend to understand at all.
It's coming from the silence
on the dock of the bay,
from the brave, the bold, the battered
heart of Chevrolet:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

It's coming from the sorrow in the street,
the holy places where the races meet;
from the homicidal bitchin'
that goes down in every kitchen
to determine who will serve and who will eat.
From the wells of disappointment
where the women kneel to pray
for the grace of God in the desert here
and the desert far away:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Sail on, sail on
O mighty Ship of State!
To the Shores of Need
Past the Reefs of Greed
Through the Squalls of Hate
Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on.

It's coming to America first,
the cradle of the best and of the worst.
It's here they got the range
and the machinery for change
and it's here they got the spiritual thirst.
It's here the family's broken
and it's here the lonely say
that the heart has got to open
in a fundamental way:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

It's coming from the women and the men.
O baby, we'll be making love again.
We'll be going down so deep
the river's going to weep,
and the mountain's going to shout Amen!
It's coming like the tidal flood
beneath the lunar sway,
imperial, mysterious,
in amorous array:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Sail on, sail on ...

I'm sentimental, if you know what I mean
I love the country but I can't stand the scene.
And I'm neither left or right
I'm just staying home tonight,
getting lost in that hopeless little screen.
But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags
that Time cannot decay,
I'm junk but I'm still holding up
this little wild bouquet:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.